My braces are off!!

They are off. My braces are off. Dr. Rahimi at Fusion Orthodontics would have liked to have kept them on for another month or two just to be extra sure that my teeth wouldn’t move an inch. But as explaining that I had officially moved four hours away from his office, he agreed to take them off as long as I swore that I would wear my retainers religiously. So swear I did.

I was SO happy to see my teeth and to brush my teeth and to floss my teeth and I could not WAIT to get home to kiss my fiancé. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Taking the braces off was not AT ALL what I expected. I’m not going to lie to you here even though I sure would like too. It hurt. A lot. Like a lot. A lot. Don’t get me wrong, it was still TOTALLY worth t. But it hurt.

I’m not sure how I thought braces came off and I certainly didn’t remember how they came off the first time I had them a zillion years ago. But I did not imagine that they would grab each bracket and basically crush the cement until they came off. I was excruciating. And I could feel – and hear – every yank.

My teeth were so sensitive I couldn’t help but yelp and cry. But Angie was AMAZING and stopped yanking whenever I raised my hand and was super sympathetic and before I knew it, she was done!

Brushing and flossing my straight new teeth was heaven and they looked SO good!

After they were off, Dr. Rahimi took a look at his fine work and then Angie took photos and made my new retainers. And then, just like that, I was braces- free!

I had the absolute best experience with Dr. Rahimi. I met him when it did my daughter’s braces, which he also did an amazing job on and I recommend him to EVERYONE I know. Braces were no fun. But TOALLY worth it.

And when I finally got to kiss my fiancé brace- free for the first time again, it was almost as incredible as our very first kiss!

Are we there yet?

It's been three months and the doc says I'm doing great. To be honest, I'm ready. The braces aren't really hurting anymore. Every once in awhile I get a little poke here and there. I was really good this time about checking to see if anything was poking be before I left the office and even went back in to have a wire cut back even further. I haven't needed rubber bands this far and hoping I won't need them.

It's crazy that part of what has bothered me the most are the hooks for the rubber bands that we may not end up even using. But they put them on - the bands with hooks - just in case. Better safe then sorry. The saving grace of this whole thing has been Dr. Rahimi. I actually look forward to seeing him. And other than the one temp, I have loved all of the women working for him who do the actual gluing and wiring and all of that jazz. I thought the hard part of having braces as an adult would be embarrassment at having them. But with the clear ones, you can barely see them. You can't see them at all in pics unless you zoom in.

The hard parts have been not being able to really kiss my fiancé and getting food in them. Sigh. I miss her and I'm tired of picking stuff out of my braces. Still, even knowing everything I know now, I would still have gotten the braces and I certainly have no reservations about the doctor I chose. My next appt is in three weeks. Although it's a crazy long shot, I am secretly hoping he'll take them off and I'll be free! My teeth already look amazing to me. Dr. Rahimi is just a serious perfectionist and says he's not done tweaking my teeth yet. So we shall see!!

I kissed my girl, and I loved it!

Photo by Chuck Holloman, StudioHolloman

More than two months ago now, I got braces. The hardest part has been the fact that I haven't been able to really kiss, really, really kiss my fiance. I am not even going to apologize if you think this is TMI. It is too exciting not to share. I MADE OUT WITH FIANCE. I hate to think now that I waited longer than I had to. But I was afraid of hurting her or hurting me or it being gross or something.

But last weekend, I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't wait four more months. So I kissed her and she kissed me back and not only was no one the worse for wear, we could not have been any happier. Yes, we still cannot wait for me to get these darn things off my teeth. But this is sure to make things a heck of a lot easier.

I still love you, Fusion Orthodontics!

And I was almost getting used to them...

With my hair magician and friend Israel Enrique at Bunnies on the Bayou

This last appointment was a little tough. I felt like I was finally getting used to my braces. I was getting by with no wax during the day and guards at night, like a plastic tubing, channel thing that pops over my braces. Then came my appointment.

The temp assistant that was there was having a REALLY tough time getting my wires off and getting those twisty things that hold the wires in removed. She kept poking me and yanking the wires. I asked her what was up a couple of times. But she didn't have any real answer. Then she pulled a bracket right off of my tooth. It was not a happy moment. So, when she asked if I would prefer someone else work with me, I said, "Yes, please."

When I saw Angie heading my way, I knew it would be smooth sailing from there on out. Temps are tough. You don't want to cancel on patients. So I appreciate and understand the need to hire one. This was just the right one and I can't blame the doc for that. I feel quite sure I won't be seeing her there again.

Angie went right to work undoing everything the temp had done and, carefully and with complete ease, redoing everything. The best part is that she overhead me telling the doc that I was sad about how yellow my teeth were looking, so she cleaned and polished every single tooth around every single bracket. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated her patience and attention. And my  teeth looked great afterwords.

It took Angie no time to get everything back in tip top shape. The bummer is that I'm back to using at least some wax. There's something about the new wires or the poking or something that left me a little uncomfortable. Not like at the beginning, of course. I've come a long way, baby!

I still love you, Fusion Orthodontics!

My braces journey in the Dallas Voice!

Photo by Chuck Holloman of StudioHolloman

I write a love and sex and relationship column for the Dallas Voice and my latest is all about my braces! You can check it out here!

One month down - five to go!

I am still blown away at how you cannot really see my braces in photos. Three cheers for clear brackets and white wires!

Today I have my one month appointment, my first appointment since having these buggers put on. It's been quite a month. Getting them on was a breeze, and my jaw hasn't been particularly sore or anything. (According to my daughter, that comes later with the rubber bands.) And I LOVE that people can't see them from a distance or in most photos.

The tough part thus far - other than not being able to really kiss my fiance, sigh - has been the pesky hooks for those rubber bands. I guess I have a tender mouth because without wax, it feels like there's barbed wire fencing on my teeth. Good news is, I've worked out a system. I only eat soft foods for breakfast and for snacks, sometimes even for lunch. The less chewing the less irritation. I spend a lot of time putting in wax, taking out wax, and brushing my teeth. It's a pain but here's the good news...

I can already tell my teeth are moving! My bottom teeth were encroaching on one another and I was inching back to my childhood overbite. Eak. And now, I can already tell that in six months, I will have a brand new smile.

So every little catch of my cheeks is totally worth it. It'll all be done in six months!

I still love you, Fusion Orthodontics!

No more wax! Oh wait, yes, more wax. Many, many tiny boxes of wax.

At the Houston Rodeo and, yes, I have braces on. Perfect, clear braces.

So last night I went without wax for 5 mins and I thought I was going to tear the paint off the walls. I hate that feeling of the inside of my cheeks being clawed at.

And then this morning, I took out the wax, brushed my teeth, and didn't put any back in. Five hours later and still no wax. I don't know what happened. But life without wax sure will be a heck of a lot easier than life with it. Taking it out and brushing my teeth and putting it back in after morning and every night and after every time I ate was getting old and tedious fast. Hoping that needing wax, or at least that much wax, is behind me now.

End of day 9. The inside of my bottom lip is full of sores. Sigh. Back to wax.

I still love you Fusion Orthodontics.